Aristide says he's ready to end exile from Haiti

February 22, 2006|By Michael Wines, New York Times News Service.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide said in a television interview Tuesday that he hopes to return to Haiti from exile in South Africa "as soon as possible," joining his onetime protege, Rene Preval, who was officially declared the country's new president last week.

In an interview with the South African Broadcasting Corp., his first since Preval's election, Aristide gave little indication of when he might return or what role he might play, except to say that he "will continue to invest in education."

While in exile, Aristide has lectured at the University of South Africa in Pretoria and given frequent speeches.

"I don't have a date, a present date," he said. "It has to be emerging from a dialogue between President Preval, myself, the UN and other countries, because all are holding their hands together to keep peace in the country."

Preval and Aristide were once close. Preval was briefly Aristide's prime minister when the latter was president in the early 1990s, then served as president himself, from 1996 to 2001, until Aristide was elected again. Many considered Preval a seat-warmer, holding the office in anticipation of his mentor's re-election.

Both men enjoy broad support among the peasantry in Haiti, one of the world's poorest nations.

But while Preval has indicated that he does not oppose Aristide's return, the relationship is likely to be delicate. Aristide fled into exile two years ago during an uprising backed largely by the nation's elite, amid accusations that his government was corrupt and had waged a campaign of violence against its rivals.

U.S. officials pressed Aristide to leave; he later claimed that he had been kidnapped by the United States and France--a claim the two governments deny.

In his television interview, Aristide said he recognized Preval's election as his country's leader.